


like love in a drunken sky

by thotsandfeelings



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:29:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thotsandfeelings/pseuds/thotsandfeelings
Summary: “I’ve never liked rainy days.”
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 24
Kudos: 101





	like love in a drunken sky

“Was it supposed to storm?” Josh asks, looking out their bedroom window. 

“Navy Yard said it was possible,” Donna notes off-handedly as she finishes typing her email. “Why?”

“Looks dark out there.”

She looks up at him with an amused expression. “Since when do you not like thunderstorms?”

“I’m not scared of them or anything,” he says, walking away from the window and sliding back into bed. “They’re just so gloomy and depressing. I’ve never liked rainy days. I wanted to do something today and now we can’t.”

“Like what?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Something. I feel like all we do in our spare time is work.”

“We’re just out of the first hundred days, Josh,” she notes. “We’ve been busy.”

Thunder rumbles around them and she closes her laptop. She fists his shirt, smirking as she drags him to her. “We can do fun, non-work, _indoor_ activities,” she suggests. 

He hums and pushes the laptop further away as he lays more comfortably over her. “Yeah?” he murmurs, nosing along her cheekbone. 

“How about we make a rule that any time it storms, we don’t work at home.”

He grins. “Like a little mini vacation every once in a while.”

“Exactly,” she says, pulling him down to kiss him gently. “Rainy days are just for us.”

Josh smiles down at her, kissing a path down her neck before she rolls them over.

“Deal.”

* * *

Donna is in a lunch meeting with some members of the Women’s Caucus when she hears the telltale sign of thunder rumbling outside the restaurant they’re in. She smiles to herself as Congresswoman Silver prattles on about preventative care, already thinking about what she wants for dinner as her lunch sits in front of her. It takes all of thirty seconds for her phone to buzz, and she smiles wider when she sees a message from Josh pop up on the screen.

_You hear it?_

_Yes, I did._ she replies.

_Mediterranean?_

_God, yes. Extra hummus._

_I should be done by 6._

_Me, too. Maybe earlier if I can sneak away from the Hair and Makeup brigade._

_And you call me snobby ;)_ Donna rolls her eyes as another message comes through. _Meet me in my office?_

She smiles and looks outside as the sky turns darker, lightning flashing over the Mall, and a warm comfort falls over her knowing she and Josh will have a whole night to themselves. It’s the only thing getting her through this farce of a meeting.

_It’s a date. xoxo_

* * *

Months go by without a drop of rain and Josh gets swept up with their big education push. He’s been on the Hill from morning till night trying to swindle Congressmen and rogue Senators to vote his way. He hasn’t seen Donna in a week; she’s been in San Francisco with the First Lady, but their plane is touching down in about an hour. 

He loses track of time during his meeting with Sam and he’s jolted back to reality when he hears a knock on his door.

“Josh.”

“Tell them I’ll call them back,” he says, not even looking up from the multitude of papers covering his desk.

“But—“

“I’m busy,” he snaps. “I’ll call them—” he cuts off when he sees Donna step into the doorway. 

“Staying stress-free while I’ve been gone, I see,” she notes, stepping into his office and picking up the many coffee cups on the round middle table.

“Those aren’t all mine.”

She turns them around, showing him the ‘Josh’ written in sharpie on all 3 cups. “Did Sam change his name?” she asks. “‘Cause I gotta tell ya, that might get confusing.”

Josh gives her a sheepish grin. “I love you.”

“Save it.”

Sam stands and offers Josh a sympathetic look. “I’ll let you guys catch up.” He nods at Donna. “You look really nice tod—”

“Don’t help him, Sam.”

“Right. See ya.”

Donna closes the door that leads out to his assistant’s desk and sits primely in one of his visitor’s chairs.

“I’m gone for a week and you fall right back in it, don’t you?”

“Look—”

“You canceled your doctor’s appointment,” she says, ticking off her fingers. “You’re drinking 3 times the amount of coffee we agreed upon. You yelled at an intern because _you_ weren’t paying attention and tripped over them, and you only returned one of my many phone calls. Where do you wanna start, Josh?”

He winces and leans back in his chair, dramatically spinning around before facing her again. From a stranger, she may look patient and calm, but Josh knows better. He can see the fire in her eyes and the tick of her jaw. He meant to have things reeled in by the time she landed.

“I’m sorry for not calling you back,” he starts. “We were in the Sit Room and I’ve been on the Hill all week. I should’ve—”

“You should’ve done a lot of things.” She stands up and his eyes widen, thinking she’s going to scold him loudly, but she only walks around his desk and grabs his hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Doctor first. Then home.”

He pulls her to a stop by his door. “Donna, I don’t have time. I have a meeting with Congresswoman Albert and then another with the FEC.”

“Sam and Amy are taking those meetings. I already rearranged your schedule before I came in.”

“You can’t just _waltz_ in here and—” he cuts off when he sees her glare and clears his throat. “Have I mentioned how much I missed you?”

She rolls her eyes. “Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He follows her as she leads him to their waiting car. “We’re going to Dr. Fisher, Paul.”

They drive away and Josh is comforted by the fact that she’s still holding his hand, so he can’t be in too much trouble.

“How was the trip?” he hedges quietly.

“It was fine,” she says, her thumb rubbing his wrist calmly. “Helen’s a pro. Everyone loves her.”

“I watched the speech.” She turns to look at him, surprise on her face. “She’s a natural. You’re doing a great job.”

“You watched it?”

“Of course I watched it.” He squeezes her hand. “I missed you. Had to get my fill somehow, even though, you know, I couldn’t really tell most of the time if it was you or Annabeth’s hair I was getting glimpses of on the sidelines. I just pretended it was you.”

Donna snorts and lays her head on his shoulder, rain starting to patter against the hood of the car, and Josh sighs heavily. He didn’t mean to get so caught up this week and he knows it’s not her job to peel him off the ceiling anymore. He rests his head on top of hers, kissing her hair, and closes his eyes. Thunder rolls over the steady rhythm of the rain and he smiles to himself when she squeezes his hand. He squeezes back, silently agreeing that they don’t talk about work the rest of the day.

He makes it through the doctor’s appointment relatively unscathed. To be fair, he had only rescheduled it for the following week, mainly because he was busy, but also because he knows Donna wants to be there with him. His blood pressure is a little high, but overall, he’s still on track, so they wait by the pharmacy for his refills and head home.

Once they are safely ensconced in their apartment, they’re drenched from the downpour outside. Donna pulls him immediately into the bathroom, silent as she strips his wet clothes off his body and leads them both into the steaming shower spray.

“I really missed you,” he murmurs, running his hands over her skin. “And I’m sorry for—“

She shushes him and wraps her arms around his shoulders as the water beats down around them and she pulls him in for a brief kiss. “Later.”

She washes him from head to toe, scrubbing his scalp with her nails and massaging his shoulders as she leans forward and kisses down the scar on his chest lovingly. He tries to reciprocate, but she holds his wrists and won’t let him touch her the way he wants to. Before he can say anything, she grabs his face to kiss him hard before reaching down and guiding him into her. 

The sex is slow, a light ember sparking low in his belly as she rocks against him. He melts into her, moaning in her ear as they hold each other. They come together quietly with a shiver, Donna letting out a hard exhale, her fingernails digging into his shoulders. He tries to pull away, but she keeps him inside her as they come down. Her nipples are rock hard against his chest and he runs his hands up and down her back, smiling into her hair when she shivers again. After another long moment, she lets him slip free and takes her forehead off his shoulder, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

“You can’t do that again,” she says quietly against his lips. “You can’t stay up for a week straight and not take care of yourself.”

“I know,” he murmurs.

She runs her fingers into his wet hair, searching his eyes with a crease between hers. “I want you around, Josh. It’s not just you anymore. It’s my life, too.”

Josh smiles and kisses her cheek before wrapping her up in a hug. “I didn’t only survive on coffee and donuts,” he says and she leans back. “I cooked and had fruit for breakfast. One of those coffee cups was from yesterday.”

“Really?” she asks skeptically and he nods.

“I’m not a total lost cause, you know. You’ve trained me pretty well over the years.” He reaches behind her to turn off the water and hands her a towel as they step out. “I will apologize to that intern, though.”

“Yes, you will.”

“And I’m also sorry for not calling you back. I always planned to, but it’d get too late. Even for west coast standards, and I didn’t wanna wake you.”

“Wake me next time,” she says, walking to their bedroom and jumping slightly when a loud clap of thunder shakes the apartment. “You always tell me to call no matter what. It goes both ways.”

Josh watches her wiggle into some lounge shorts and a sports bra, forgoing a shirt as the humidity outside invades the apartment, and he follows suit, snagging boxers and an old t-shirt before following her into the living room. She plops down on the couch and he heads into the kitchen.

“You want a drink?” 

“We can split a beer.”

He pops the top and falls onto the couch, pulling her into his embrace and hands her the bottle. “Did you conjure this thunderstorm? Or was it just a happy coincidence?”

She hums and takes a sip before passing the bottle back to him and snuggling deeper into his chest. “Helen and I did a rain dance. Must’ve worked.”

He snorts. “Did Mrs. Bartlet pass on her ouija board, too?”

“That’s classified. East siders only.”

“Was your rain dance targeted for the entire east coast?”

She smirks. “The Mets game getting rained out _was_ a happy coincidence.

“I’ll bet,” he grumbles, taking a drink of the beer. 

Donna leans back to kiss him on the cheek and grab the bottle back before reaching for the remote. “You’re all mine tonight,” she murmurs and Josh just smiles and kisses her head as thunder claps again. 

“I’ll gladly be your prisoner.” 

“Good, because you don’t have a choice.” She looks back and smiles at him cheekily. “And we’re watching Forrest Gump.”

“Okay,” he murmurs. “But I’m not promising to stay awake.” He rests his face in the crook of her neck as the movie starts, focusing on the feel of her and the sounds from the steady rain outside. “I’m really glad you’re home.”

She doesn’t say anything, just turns in his arms again and kisses him gently before turning back and snuggling in. He feels the past week’s stress finally flush out of him and he’s asleep within minutes.

* * *

Josh punches the lumpy hotel pillow one more time and flops down, his mind still racing from the day. He and the President are in London for a summit with the EU. They’ve been here for a few days and he’s still jet-lagged, his brain refusing to get off DC time. He’s about to turn on the TV again and just stay up, but his cell phone rings, startling him.

“Hello?”

“You’re awake.”

“My body doesn’t understand time zones.”

Donna chuckles. “I remember well.”

“What’s up?” He checks the clock. “Are you at home?”

“Yeah,” she sighs. “It’s raining.”

He smiles at the clear pout in her voice. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ll be home Sunday. We can make it up then.”

“It’s not the same.”

“I know,” he murmurs. “How was your day?”

“It was good. I had dinner with Sam.”

“Where’d you go?”

“That little diner on 17th.”

“God,” he moans dramatically. “I would kill for an American cheeseburger right now. I’m so sick of tea and fish. I don’t know how these people live, Donna.”

She laughs and snuggles deeper into the couch. “You’re so uncultured. Didn’t your parents force you into cotillion or something when you were growing up?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t stick.”

“Did you at least go outside and see some sights or were you cooped up all day?”

“We were stuck inside. These EU leaders are chatty.”

“I wouldn’t know.” She sniffs. “I was never brought on those trips.”

He scoffs. “Donna, we only had so much room on Air Force One.”

“I’m a tiny woman,” she argues. “I could’ve fit on a couch just fine.”

“I’m not having this argument again,” he says, amused. “You get to go to Rome in a couple months and you don’t hear me whining.”

“I’m allowed to whine.”

He smiles. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’m home alone and I miss you.”

His stomach churns with homesickness. “You’re killin’ me, Donna,” he says softly. “I miss you like crazy.”

“It’s raining really hard outside.”

“Are you on the couch?”

“Yes.”

He smiles and grabs one of the extra pillows, hugging it tightly to his chest. “Close your eyes,” he says. “Pretend I’m right behind you.”

“You’re much comfier than this lumpy couch.”

“We can get a new one anytime.”

She hums in his ear. “Are you finally giving me free reign of your credit card?”

“Go crazy,” he says. “Anything you want.”

“I’d kiss you right now if you were here.”

Josh grins and hugs the pillow tighter to his chest, wishing more than anything that it was her in his arms instead. “Save ‘em up. You can plant them all on me when I land.”

She giggles and he clutches the phone tighter to his ear. “Helen wants to meet you guys on the tarmac.”

“I am very okay with that.”

“I thought you might be.”

He sighs heavily and lays there in the silence. “Only two more days, babe,” he says softly.

“Yeah.” They’re silent for a beat. “You should try and sleep, Josh.”

“Can you—” he cuts off with a tired laugh.

“What?”

“This is so pathetic,” he says, covering his eyes with his arm. “Can you stay on the phone?”

“It’s not pathetic,” she murmurs and he can hear the smile in her voice. “It’s sweet.”

“It’s lame,” he groans, flipping onto his back and pulling the pillow over his face as he settles in. 

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

He exhales heavily. “I love you.”

“I know,” she whispers. “Go to sleep, Josh. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Thunder reverberates in his ear and he lets the soothing sound of the rain from DC mix with Donna’s even breathing to finally rock him to sleep.

* * *

“Can you believe it’s raining?”

Donna smiles. “You know, in some places, rain on your wedding day is a good omen for fertility.”

“Let’s just take this one step at a time,” he teases, and grips her waist tighter. 

They’re on the terrace of their venue, the rain splattering around them as Josh leads her in a slow dance. He’d slipped Sam a $20 to tell anyone who asked that there was an issue with the cake and they’d be back soon. He leans further into her neck, completely content as the soft smell of her perfume envelopes him. 

“Can you believe we’re married?” she asks, carding her fingers through his hair. “You’re my husband now.”

He grins. “You’re my wife. My _wife_.” He chuckles in her ear. “That’s gonna be fun to say. ‘This is my wife, Donna’.”

“My husband, Josh,” she whispers and he pulls back to look at her, her favorite smile on his face. “I like saying that.”

“I like hearing it,” he murmurs and he leans in to kiss her softly. Thunder rolls around them as they continue to sway, lost in their own world. “Our flight may be delayed tonight. I have Sam checking on it for me.”

“That’s okay.” She rests her head on his shoulder. “We could stay in our apartment for our honeymoon and I’d still be just as happy.”

Josh grins. “You deserve a better honeymoon than that.”

“Wherever you are, Josh,” she sighs, squeezing his shoulders. “That’s where I wanna be. You're all I need.”

His heart pulls in his chest and he kisses her hair. “I love you, Donna.”

She picks her head up and gives him a soft smile. “I love you, too, Wild Thing.” She sees Sam in the doorway, so she kisses Josh quickly and moves away from him, grabbing his hand and leading him back inside. “Come on. You can stick your head under my dress and get the garter.”

He smirks as Sam holds the door open for them. “Stay clear of the press deputies. They’re mad at Lou.”

“For what?” Josh asks, then thinks better of it. “Actually, I don’t care.” Donna grins and squeezes his hand. 

“That was a great speech, Sam.”

“Not too sappy?”

“It was perfect. Just sappy enough. Thank you.” She leans forward and kisses his cheek. “Will you tell the coordinator we’re gonna do the garter and bouquet toss? Then cake before we go back to the hotel.”

“Yeah,” Sam replies. “Still no official word on the flight, but I called the Navy Yard and they say the storm is still heading this way.”

Josh nods and claps Sam on the back as they enter the ballroom. “Thanks for all your help today, buddy.”

“It was my pleasure,” he says, giving them both a happy grin before dashing off to find the wedding coordinator. 

“Your mother is shooting lasers at you,” Donna notes. “You owe her a dance.”

“Yeah,” he says, looking at his mom before turning back to her. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

She grins as he quickly kisses her cheek and makes a beeline through the crowd, grabbing his mom’s hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. Donna watches them, smiling wider when she hears a louder clap of thunder outside, and goes to find her father while thinking she really wouldn’t mind being rained in with her husband tonight at all.

* * *

Donna rolls over when she hears the thunder outside, smiling as she spoons Josh from behind, and she kisses his shoulder. She sneaks her hand under his arm and brushes over his chest softly. He pushes back against her and she moves her lips to the back of his neck as he grabs her hand. She feels more than hears him mumble “morning”, and she squeezes his middle.

“Good morning.”

“Did I dream that thunder or—” he’s cut off when another rumble rolls through and he hums as he snuggles deeper into the blankets. “Thank God.”

Donna slides her leg between his and continues scratching at his skin lightly. “What are we gonna do all day?”

“You’re gonna stay right there and keep doin’ that scratchy thing,” he says. “And I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

She chuckles and he tightens his hold on her wrist so she can’t escape. His overgrown hair tickles her nose as she tucks into him, and his breathing deepens again in a few minutes, but Donna stays awake. The storm outside is getting closer and she knows it’s only a matter of time before it claps one time too loud and their morning is disturbed.

Not even a minute later, lightning flashes and thunder bangs outside and she rolls her eyes internally when Josh doesn’t even twitch against her. She waits patiently and grins when she hears little feet running down the hall and opening their bedroom door. She rolls away from Josh to find a mop of curly hair peeking over the top of the mattress.

“Mama. Up.”

Donna grabs the little hands and pulls Noah up so he’s on the bed with them.

“Good morning, baby boy,” she whispers as he tucks into her neck and she rubs his back soothingly as he covers his ears.

“It’s woud,” he mumbles.

“I know it’s loud,” she murmurs and kisses his forehead. “It’s just thunder.” Josh lets out a deep breath and catches Noah’s attention, distracting him from another boom. “Go wake up daddy.”

Noah crawls across her, chattering away as he lands his hands on Josh’s shoulder. He moves up and down, bouncing on his knees while slapping happily at Josh’s head. Donna laughs and the baby squeals when Josh flips over suddenly, tackling Noah lightly onto the bed and attacking him playfully.

“Who’s this intruder in my bed?”

“Noah!”

Josh lifts the squealing baby above his head airplane style and blows a raspberry on his tummy. “How’d you get out of your crib? Huh? You're just a regular Houdini these days.”

Donna grins. “He’s almost ready for his big boy bed.”

“Big boy,” Noah chirps, sitting on Josh’s chest and pulling on his hair. “Big, big, big.”

Donna pulls Noah off Josh. “I like your daddy’s hair, sweetheart, don’t pull it all out.” He reaches for her breast, but she grabs his hand before he can get inside her shirt. “Are you hungry?”

Noah pouts and makes grabby hands. “Mama.”

Josh pats his son’s back and looks at Donna. “Pancakes?”

Noah claps. “I think that’s a yes,” she says, rolling out of bed. She stretches and groans loudly. When she opens her eyes, Josh is smirking at her. “What?”

He snags Noah and throws him over his shoulder playfully before walking over to Donna. He plucks at his tattered shirt she’s wearing, sneaking his hand underneath and rubbing at her stomach. He brings Noah down before he can accidentally kick her in the face and pulls her closer. 

“Nothin’,” he says, still smiling at her. “You look good. Got the whole glowy thing going.” She gives him a look like he’s out of his mind, but lets him kiss her anyway. She smiles against his lips when she hears Noah tell him “no” and pat at his cheek. Josh pulls away and jostles him in his arms. “I’m allowed to kiss my wife, Noah.”

“No,” he says again and reaches for Donna. “Me kiss.”

Donna laughs and takes him from Josh’s arms. “You kiss,” she says, smiling smugly at Josh as Noah plants a sloppy kiss on her cheek. 

“My mama.”

“My Noah,” she parrots, hugging him tight as he burrows in her neck.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Josh says, feigning betrayal and poking Noah playfully. “You’re stealing her away.”

“Maybe you’ll be the next one’s favorite,” she replies as they make their way to the kitchen.

“It’s not fair. You get a 9 month head start,” Josh grumbles and gathers the ingredients for blueberry pancakes as Donna plops Noah in his playpen. “They only get to hear me. You get to, y’know, give them life and sustenance.”

She walks over to Josh and wraps her arms around him from behind. “He loves you.” She kisses his shoulder. “And so will this one.”

He turns in her arms and looks down at her still-flat stomach, palming it gently. He smiles before kissing her and groans when Noah yells again in protest, making Donna laugh. “He truly is your son,” she quips, kissing him once more quickly before going to sit on the couch. “Sabotaging any man who comes near me.”

“We sabotage _Republicans_ , Noah,” Josh says, turning toward the playpen. “Not daddy. You and me are the only boys allowed to kiss her, you hear me?” Noah bangs his toys together in response and Josh nods. “Exactly.”

Their morning trails on slowly, the sky getting darker and darker around them, but they don’t mind. Josh makes a mess of the pancakes which makes Noah extremely happy, clapping and babbling from his high chair as Donna tries to feed him some stray blueberries. 

“Thanks for breakfast,” she says when Josh finally sits down with a plate of misshapen pancakes. 

“For me?” Noah asks and Josh nods. 

“Yes, for you.”

“Fank you.”

Josh grins and kisses Noah’s messy cheek. “You’re welcome.”

The storm rolls on the rest of the day and they tuck themselves into the couch. They introduce Noah to The Lion King and he takes up growling adorably the whole movie until he falls asleep on Donna’s chest, who in turn falls asleep on Josh’s chest. He quietly switches the TV to CNN, keeping one hand on Noah’s back and moving the other into Donna’s hair, running his fingers over them lazily as rain pelts the windows.

He smiles when they both start snoring softly, almost drowning out the storm outside, and Josh feels a rush of adoration for his little family that will soon be even bigger in 6 short months. He holds them tight and thinks to himself how grateful he is for rainy days and for Donna, who is sunshine personified and helps make all his days brighter, especially the gloomy ones. 

He doesn’t mind them so much anymore. 


End file.
